Basket



y 0, 1947. H. s. JOHNS 2,420,882

BASKET Filed July 5, 1945 1 VENTOR. W

BY I

Patented May 20, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BASKET Henry S. Johns, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application July 5, 1943, Serial No. 493,525

3 Claims.

This invention relates to baskets and, while certain features of construction employed in the same may be utilized for manufacturing baskets of other materials, the invention has for its principal object to enable baskets to be made from veneer or other thin sheet-like material in such manner as to render them capable of speedy and cheap production while possessing unusual qualities of strength and rigidity. Further and more limited objects of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawings and will be realized in and through the combinations of elements embodied in the claims hereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevational view of a basket constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 a plan view of the aforesaid basket; and Figs. 3 and 4 are details in section corresponding respectively to the lines 33 and 44 of Fig. 1.

Describing by reference characters the parts shown herein, Ill denotes the bottom of a basket of a familiar six-quart type, such as used for the packaging of fruit and vegetables. This bottom is elliptical in contour and is made of thin sheetlike material, such as veneer, which may be about one-tenth inch in thickness, and is provided with outwardly convex ends Ill connected by parallel sides In. The bottom, when made from veneer, is cut in such manner that the grain runs crosswise, as indicated. The side and end panels of the basket are made from six pieces of thin sheetlike material, such as veneer, identical in shape and dimensions, thereby reducing the number of operation necessary for the production of the basket. As will appear from Figs. 1 and 2, each side panel I I and each end panel I8 is rectangular in shape and the side panels are spaced apart midway of the length of the basket to provide a vertical slot l2 between adjacent side edges of said panels. The upper ends of the side panels are secured, as by staples l3, to and between inner and outer upper reinforcing bands l4 and IS. The lower ends of the side panels are also secured to and between lower reinforcing bands l6 and I1. It will be noted that these bands are of such length that they overlap, as shownat M and I, thereby enabling the overlapping portions to be firmly secured together by means of the staples, the reinforcement thus provided in- 2 suring strength at the discontinuous end portions of the bands.

l8 denotes the end panels of the basket, the same having their upper ends secured to and between the reinforcing bands l4 and I5 and their lower ends secured to and between the reinforcing bands [6 and I1. In practice, the edges of the end panels will occupy an overlapping relation with respect to the proximate edgesof the respective side panels ll adjacent thereto. For convenience of stapling the side and end panels together and to the reinforcing bands, and assuming that the basket is moved counter clockwise with respect to the stapling means, the edge of the left hand end panel I8 will overlap the adjacent edge of the side panel H and the edge of the other side panel II will overlap the adjacent edge of the other end panel l8, and this successive overlapping arrangement will extend around the other side of the basket. However, it is immaterial, so far as strength is concerned, whether the end and side panels be overlapped in this manner. The overlapping, however, imparts strength to the joints formed between the end and side panels.

The bottom is provided with dovetailed projections III the narrow portions of which, before the side and end panels are secured to the reinforcing bands, are inserted into vertical slots ll extending upwardly from the bottoms of the side panels and into vertical slots H3 extending upwardly from the bottoms of the end panels. These projections in turn are supported on the tops of the bottom reinforcing bands, as will be plainly seen from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 3.

Reference has been made hereinbefore to the fact that the side panels are spaced apart'for the purpose of providing opposed vertical slots I2 therebetween. These opposed slots are for the purpose of receiving the lower end portions l9 of the sides of a handle, the upper arched portion of which is shown at l9. The lower portions of the handle sides are of substantially the same w'idthas the slots l2 and each such portion has a reduced lower end or tongue l9 which is narrower infwidth than the portion thereabove and which narrowed end or tongue is adapted to be received within a lot 20 provided therefor in a projection in, the slot being of the same width as the width of the said tongue, there being shoulders l9 uniting the tongues with the portions l9 thereabove, which shoulders are adapted to rest upon the upper surface of said projection. The tongues project between the bottom reinforcing bands l6 and IT.

The handles are detachably secured in place by means of tongues struck therefrom and adapted to engage beneath one or both of the upper reinforcing bands. As shown herein, each handle is provided with a pair of outwardly projecting tongues l9 struck therefrom, the tops of which are adapted to engage beneath the outer reinforcing band I 5, and with an inwardly projecting tongue I9 which is adapted to engage beneath the inner reinforcing band I4. These tongues are so arranged that, when engaged beneath and with their respective bands, the shoulders l9 will be in engagement with the tops of their respective projections l, thus preventing the sides of the handle from being pushed downwardly further than necessary to enable the tongues thereon to engage the bottoms of their respective reinforcing bands, thereby providing a rigid, as well as a detachable, connection between the handle and the basket proper. I The resilience of the upper reinforcing bands permits the tongues to pass therebetween when the handle is inserted into and removed from the basket proper.

Owing to the fact that the end panels flare outwardly and upwardly from the bottoms thereof, the central portion of each of the same will be somewhat lower than the end portions. This, however, will not affect the strength of the construction.

When the parts of which the basket is formed are assembled, the handle constitutes a central reinforcement for the sides of the basket. Furthermore, the fact that it is readily removable from the basket enables the baskets themselves to be nested for shipping, separate from the handles, thereby economizing greatly in shipping space. Still further, where the material of which the baskets are made is incompletely dried or seasoned, the nesting of the baskets enables them to retain their shape. Furthermore, the nesting of the baskets in shipment insures their delivery in a clean condition. The fact that the baskets retain their shape enables the handles to be fitted properly in the vertical slots provided therefor and also enables the covers to be convenient- 1y applied to and fitted upon the tops of the baskets after the latter shall have been filled.

The manner in which the handles are secured in place enables the weight of the basket and its contents to be supported from the upper reinforcing bands; and the manner in which the bottom is united to the sides and ends forms a particularly strong connection between these parts and the reinforcing bands.

Due to the manner in which baskets made in accordance with my invention are constructed, I am able to provide them with a sufiicient strength and rigidity to enable them to withstand all incidents of ordinary use to which they are subjected and at the same time to employ thin material, such as veneer, fibre board, sheet plastic, cardboard, pressed ground wood or other suitable material for all of the parts thereof. In making six-quart baskets of veneer, I have employed, for the side and end panels and reinforcing bands, veneer of a thickness of approximately 1 4;" and, for the handles, veneer of a thickness of approximately /8". Where materials other than veneer are used, the thickness of such materials will necessarily vary in accordance with the strength thereof. Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A basket comprising a bottom and side and end panels made of relatively thin material, upper inner and outer reinforcing bands to and between which the side and end panels are secured, an outer lower reinforcing band to and within which the lower portions of the side and end panels are secured, means for securing the bottom in place within the side and end panels and above the lower reinforcing band, an inverted U- shapedhandle, the lower portions of the sides whereof are insertable between the inner and outer upper reinforcing bands and within the lower reinforcing band, the central portions of the sides of the bottom being provided with means for receiving the lower ends of the sides of the handle and for positioning such lower ends in a predetermined relation thereto, and one or more projections carried by each of the sides of the handle and being adapted to engage the lower edge or edges of one or both of the upper reinforcing bands when the lower ends are so positioned with reference to the bottom.

2'. A basket comprising a bottom and side and end panels made of relatively thin material, upper and lower reinforcing bands extending about the upper and lower ends of the side and end panels, respectively, and secured to said panels, means for securing the bottom in place within the side and end panels and above the lower reinforcing band, an inverted U-shaped handle, the lower portions of the sides whereof are insertable within the upper and lower reinforcing bands, the lower ends of the sides of the handle being reduced in width to provide tongues with shoulders thereabove, and the central portions of the sides of the bottom being provided with means adapted to receive the said tongues and to form stops with said shoulders, thereby to position the sides of the handles with their tongues extending downwardly within the lower reinforcing band, and a projection carried by each of the sides of the handle and adapted to engage the lower edge of the upper reinforcing band when the lower ends are so positioned with reference to the bottom.

3. A basket comprising a bottom and side and end panels made of relatively thin material, up-

' fasteners securing the tops and bottoms of said panels to the top and bottom reinforcing bands respectively, and means for securing the bottom in place, said means comprising dovetailed projections extending from opposite sides of the bottom substantially midway of the length of said sides and slots extending vertically upwardly from the corresponding portions of the sides for the reception of the narrow or neck portions of the said dovetailed projections, the said slots eX- tending above the lower reinforcing band and the outer ends of the projections resting upon the lower reinforcing band, each of the said dovetained projections being provided with a slot extending" through the outer portion thereof, an inverted U-shaped handle, the sides whereof are insertable within the upper and lower reinforcing bands, the lower ends of the sides of the handle being reduced in width to provide tongues with shoulders thereabove, the tongues being insertable into the slots in the dovetailed projections REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 763,578 Walker June 28, 1904 2,040,993 Hewson May 19, 1936 865,065 Sturm Sept. 3, 1907 1,448,626 Hemphill Mar. 13, 1923 Number Number Name Date Blackmon Jan. 12, 1892 Bloom Apr. '7, 1925 Petersen June 28, 1927 Marvil Mar. 13, 1883 Johnson May 13, 1913 Patten Apr. 2, 1929 Leigh July 9, 1929 Finley Oct. 22, 1901 Ferres et al May 1, 1900 Brogden July 14, 1942 Wilcox May 22, 1906 Little Oct. 23, 1900 Sullivan et a1 May 24, 1938 Bloom Mar. 10, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 27, 1906 

